1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display device, and more particularly, to an optimal pad area of an OLED display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Among various display panels for a display device, a display panel using an organic light emitting diode (OLED) has been receiving more attention because of the abrupt advance of semiconductor technology.
An active matrix type of OLED display device using an organic light emitting diode includes a plurality of pixels arranged on a substrate formed in a matrix form and thin film transistors (TFTs) disposed at each of the pixels, such that each of the pixels is independently controlled by the thin film transistors.
The OLED display device includes a light emitting area for displaying an image and a non-light emitting area formed on a periphery of the light emitting area, and pads of wires elongated from the light emitting area are provided on the non-light emitting area. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, a part where the pads are provided will be referred to as a pad area.
Contemporarily, a substrate on which a thin film transistor, an organic light emitting element, and a wire pattern are formed is provided, and an encapsulation substrate is sealed thereto to form the OLED display device. Here, after the substrate and the encapsulation substrate are sealed together, the area of the encapsulation substrate corresponding to the pad area is partially eliminated in order to expose the plurality of pads through the substrate. A thermal compression method is used to electrically connect the pads to a connection element (e.g., a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB)) for electrically connecting the OLED display device to an external device.
In a process for partially eliminating the encapsulation substrate, however, stress is applied to the substrate provided under the encapsulation substrate by the eliminating force, and the thin film transistor, organic light emitting element, and wire patterns formed on the substrate may be damaged.
When the elements on the substrate are damaged, a pixel error in the OLED display device may occur, and quality of the product may be deteriorated.
The above disclosed information in this Background section is only for enhancement for understanding the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.